State of the Laboratory—1986: ORNL Engages in Collaborative Research. ORNL is performing an increasing amount of work jointly with technical groups in industry, universities, other national laboratories, and laboratories in foreign countries. This collaborative research includes a physics experiment at an accelerator in Switzerland, applications. of surface-modification techniques, studies of radon in the home, the Integrated Forest Study, breeder fuel-reprocessing tests in Japan, development and testing of SDI optical components, modeling of the Chernobyl reactor accident, and tests of superconducting magnets and pellet fueling for fusion energy.

Positive Feedback in Nature. Ecologists have increasingly come to appreciate the positive feedback processes that occur in ecosystems. These processes are self-amplifying and promote ecological change as well as biological production and diversity. Positive feedback is involved in coevolution, ecological succession, insect and disease outbreaks, and many phenomena.

The U.S.-Japan Collaboration on Breeder Fuel Reprocessing: ORNL's Role. In March 1986 the United States and Japan agreed to collaborate on developing and demonstrating breeder-reactor fuel reprocessing at a Japanese fuel-recycling pilot plant, which incorporates technology developed at ORNL. The U.S. work, mostly in remote technology, is centered at ORNL.

National Laboratories and Science Education: The University Relations Programs at ORNL. ORNL and other national laboratories play a significant role in the education and training of university students and providing unique research experiences for university faculty. To improve science education and encourage more U.S. students to choose technical careers, ORNL has developed new programs for undergraduate and precollege education.

Environmental Aspects of the Chernobyl Accident. When news of the Chernobyl nuclear accident was first announced in April 1986, ORNL scientists made calculations to determine about when the accident had occurred. Other ORNL scientists helped model the accident and used information on fission-product concentrations in Europe to determine the chemical conditions affecting the two releases of radioactivity from the stricken reactor. Since then, ORNL scientists have been analyzing environmental radiation data from Europe and the Soviet Union.

Parallel Computing at ORNL. Computer scientists are learning how to use new parallel processing machines to meet ORNL's research needs. New parallel algorithms for solving large systems of equations have been developed at ORNL.

Protecting Human Health: The Chemical Challenge. Scientists at ORNL have developed several methods of detecting human responses to hazardous energy-related chemicals. They are using interferon as a bioeffects marker and are developing the "fluoroimmunosensor," which detects minute amounts of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons in body fluids and tissues.

The Technology Transfer Fund: A Status Report on the ORNL Projects. ORNL, DOE, and the Office of Technology Applications of Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., have committed funds to stimulate innovation and bring ORNL technologies to the stage where their commercial potential can be judged. The status of five technology-transfer projects is described.

Pion Emission from Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions. A theorist said it couldn't be done, but nuclear physicists at ORNL's Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility accelerator have detected the emission of pions, short-lived particles that serve as the "glue" in the nucleus, from low-energy nuclear reactions. Current theory is being revised to explain how pions can be produced at unexpectedly low energies.

Fractals: Realm of Monster Curves and Irregular Solids A solid-state physicist has turned to fractals to understand the strange electrical properties of the interface between an electrode and various electrolytes. He suggests that fractals—a mathematical concept that describes a large class of irregular natural objects—could be useful in other areas of ORNL research.

Transuranium-Element Production and Research For almost two decades ORNL's High Flux lsotope Reactor (HFIR) and Transuranium Processing Plant (TRU) have produced most of the transuranium elements used by researchers in the Western world. ORNL's Transuranium Research Laboratory, where research is carried out on the HFIR-TRU products, has become an international center for collaborative research. ORNL collaboration with the University of Tennessee has been particularly strong in inorganic chemistry and solid-state physics.

State of the Laboratory- 1984: Exploring New Areas. In this updated report based on his February 5, 1985, address to the staff. Postma notes that the Laboratory's return on some investments has been remarkable. Seed money projects have brought about $4 in research funds to ORNL for every $1 invested by the internal Exploratory Studies Program. ORNL research also has helped others save money. For example, Laboratory recommendations on energy options have helped Liberia save up to $20 million annually. ORNL studies of the potential thermal shock problem of commercial nuclear reactors saved electric utilities millions of dollars.

Crickets and Coal Liquefaction Research. Several years ago cricket eggs exposed to a chemical under study in the synthetic fuels program hatched crickets with assorted abnormalities such as an extra eye, antenna, or head. The author tells how ORNL toxicologists and analytical chemists determined that certain trace substances cause these teratogenic effects and how they eventually identified a teratogenic compound in these substances.

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development. Technical innovators and entrepreneurs are receiving new respectability as a result of a growing need for technical solutions to revitalize the economy. The time has come for East Tennessee to experience new economic development because both the need and capability for innovation and entrepreneurship are present.